Kathleen Luppi begins her facial with steam and a cleansing at Fresh in South Coast Plaza.

Greg Hardesty listens to master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago before his Royal Shave at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza.

Greg Hardesty, gestures as master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago gives him the Royal Shave treatment at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza.

Greg Hardesty, left, sits in master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago's chair during his Royal Shave treatment at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza.

Greg Hardesty, right, gets the straight razor treatment from master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago during his Royal Shave at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza. The shaving cream is applied as a rich, hot lather.

Greg Hardesty enjoys his after shave mask treatment from master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago during his Royal Shave at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza. The mask replenishes skin moisture after the shave.

Greg Hardesty gets the straight razor treatment from master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago during his Royal Shave at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza. The shaving cream is applied as a rich, hot lather.

A selection of some of the products used during the facial treatment on Kathleen Luppi by esthetician Vanessa Wilson at Fresh in South Coast Plaza.

Kathleen Luppi gets a mask applied by esthetician Vanessa Wilson during a facial treatment at Fresh in South Coast Plaza.

Kathleen Luppi gets hand massaged by esthetician Vanessa Wilson during a facial treatment at Fresh in South Coast Plaza.

Kathleen Luppi, right, gets a mask applied by esthetician Vanessa Wilson during a facial treatment at Fresh in South Coast Plaza.

Greg Hardesty shows off his shiny skin after master barber Alejandro Gabriel Santiago's Royal Shave treatment at The Art of Shaving in South Coast Plaza.

Sue us, but we just needed to get a facial and shave. So we dragged ourselves to South Coast Plaza and visited two boutiques located two doors away from each other on the first floor near Carousel Court: Fresh and The Art of Shaving. This job is killing us.

Most facials cost $100 or more, easily. At the boutique Fresh, when you purchase $125 worth of products, you get a free facial. That’s the only way to get a facial at Fresh: by purchasing enough of its skincare, color, scent, body and hair care goods.

This is ingenious marketing. Yvonne White, store manager, was quick to point out that if you want several facials throughout the year but not all that product, buy the items as gifts (just one 1-ounce container of Crème Ancienne face cream, made by hand by monks in the Czech Republic, will get you one free facial).

Vanessa Wilson, an aesthetician with impeccable bedside manners and long, strong fingers, tailors each facial to a client’s specific needs – for example, how oily or dry the person’s skin is, or both.

She says a good facial should last four to six weeks.

Wilson, 33, starts by steaming the face to open pores. She only extracts (pops out blackheads and pimples) if needed, and Kathleen is pleased to hear there will be no need for that today.

A dab of Sugar Face Polish ($55, 4.4 ounces), made with brown sugar and crushed wild strawberries, exfoliates the skin. This is followed by a blast of alcohol-free Rose Floral Toner ($38, 8.4 ounces) and the detoxifying Umbrian Clay Mattifying Mask ($48, 3.4 ounces), which Wilson applies with a brush.

Unlike most masks, this one feels creamy – not crusty.

As the mask sets, Wilson splashes some Rice Dry Oil ($48, 3.3 ounces) onto Kathleen’s shoulders and arms, giving her a mini-massage. This is followed by a second mask, the Rose Face Mask ($55, 3.3 ounces). This mask feels light and penetrates through the clay mask to keep the skin moisturized. Either mask can be used separately, Wilson says.

“Health first, then beauty,” Wilson says of her philosophy about facials. In other words, the real benefit of a facial is how good it is for you skin – not necessarily how much “better” it makes you look.

Kathleen is impressed with how her face doesn’t look all red and blotchy – the aftermath, sadly, of many facials, “where it looks like someone ripped a piece of tape off my face,” as she puts is.

The facial felt thorough and refreshing.

“But where were the cucumbers for my eyes?” Kathleen asks.

Shave for him

Wolverine would love The Art of Shaving.

But even for guys who aren’t into facial hair, or who don’t put much thought into shaving, The Art of Shaving’s Royal Shave ($55, 45 minutes) treatment is a relaxing indulgence that leaves one’s face feeling smooth, bright and tight.

Incorporating oils, a mask, toner and balm, the treatment pretty much also serves as a facial for men.

Performed in an elegant man cave by a master barber, the shave lasts two to three days, is recommended once a month for proper skin care, and is the perfect way to look sharp (heh heh, get it?) before a wedding or other important occasion.

Master barber Santiago Gonzalez, 30, of Orange says his passion for the craft goes back to his childhood near Cancun, where he helped his grandfather shave pigs.

Hmm, Greg thinks. Is he trying to tell me something?

The treatment starts with a 102-degree towel to open pores, and then a coating of pre-shave oil ($25, 2 ounces), which promotes razor glide and softens beard hair.

Gonzalez then slathers on heated shaving cream ($25, 2 ounces, with glycerin and coconut oil serving as the key ingredients) with a brush fashioned from badger hair to help lift the beard hair and gently exfoliate the skin.

He then whips out his traditional straight razor – yes, the one favored by Sweeney Todd and murderous Mafioso in gangster movies – and brings the blade to Greg’s throat.

The blade glides across the skin with little pressure, and Gonzalez shaves with the grain, and then against it – relying almost exclusively on the feel of the beard hair, rather than sight.

He says he’s game to shave in the dark, but Greg begs him to keep the lights on.

After the shave, Gonzalez applies an after-shave balm ($40, 3 ounces) and a chilled towel that faintly smells of lavender, followed by a blast of subtle rose toning mist.

The Art of Shaving sells a host of products and gift sets that will make dads happy. The stuff isn’t cheap, but don’t hate the messenger.

Gonzalez says a proper shave at home needn’t take nearly an hour. Don’t use a straight razor, he says, unless you are expertly trained in how to wield one.

“If you shave properly,” Gonzalez says, “it can be one of the best 15 minutes of your day.”

Contact the writer: Got a product or beauty treatment you want reviewed? Please send story ideas and comments to kluppi@ocregister.com or ghardesty@ocregister.com. Kathleen can be reached at 714-796-2286 and Greg at 714-796-6704, or through snail mail at the Orange County Register, 625 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701

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